Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality

by Thubten Yeshe

No one has ever talked about tantra with such clarity, coherence and simplicity. Religious Studies Review

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Philosophy, Meditation, Self Help

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 1987

About the author

Lama Thubten Yeshe was a monastic teacher of Tibetan Buddhism most closely associated with the Gelug school of the Dalai Lamas. He established the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), and was succeeded in leadership of that organization by his heart-disciple Lama Thubten Zopa in 1984.

Reviews

[Polly Trout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of Lama Yeshe lately; currently he's my favorite guru. He is funny, straightforward, humble, and full of joy. He makes renouncing worldly desire sound like it is the most delicious, erotic, hilarious party ever. I wish I could pull that off. Of his books, this is the most accessible and famous. I'm also reading several of his more obscure books, which I'm getting a lot out of but I would be hesitant to recommend them to anyone else I know, unless they were as obsessed with combining tantra, humanism, mysticism, and social justice as I am -- oh, and if you meet someone like that, be sure to give them my phone number.

[Brittany Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook Rating: 1 star

This was a bit confusing, a tad repetitive, and not nearly compassionate enough at times, for my own personal liking.

I had a really hard time absorbing this info in the audiobook format. It felt repetitive then scattered, it didn't flow well in a way that was helpful to me. I may have had an easier time with the print edition but I don't think I'll be finding out. Here's why:

I like teachers that can speak about diversity (East vs West) without a belittling tone, such as what I felt from this tantra book. Maybe it was just the way the narrator said the words, but something felt off to me, as in aren't we supposed to be past judgment, instead of passing it off as passive-aggressive humor? This teacher is not the one for me and that's ok!

I like Pantanjali's works better and think I'll go back to those. This is a matter of personal opinion.

This should in no way discourage others from checking this title out! (I'm extremely picky with my mentors, what works for me may differ from what works for you and that's completely alright! We are all at different stages in life.)

The one thing that did stand out to me, a great reminder, was that we should be acting as if we are God(s) and Goddess(es) now. Compassionate, Open, Calm, At One, Enlightened.

This title is available on Amazon's Audible Plus Catalog. I was under no obligation to write a review my honest opinion is freely given.

[Timothy Warnock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent description of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra; the transformation of desire and pleasures into transcendental experiences of deep penetrative awareness; this is absolutely amazing!

There is a wonderful universality of Tantra that goes far beyond the specific traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, this book occasionally loses itself in these traditions especially when describing the role of a lama/guru/teacher and the divisive view of "western" people contrasted with Tibetan; an over-simplification that ultimately does no benefit or justice to the wonderful teaching otherwise contained in these writings.

For example, It would perhaps be more useful to view the descriptions of reincarnation as strictly metaphorical, representing actual and ephemeral mental states (from moment-to-moment rather than spanning physical lifetimes), in doing so there arises a profound awareness that can radically alter consciousness to cease the very ego grasping and striving so artfully described in this book.

In a nutshell, this book presents all the keys necessary for the cessation of suffering and a profound awareness/experience of bliss, but then rather than go through that door it instead gets lost in the metaphor of tradition and occasionally gets stuck in the very faulty conventional wisdom that the world today is somehow in a worse state of affairs than it was in the past (somehow not following through on its own description of "dependent arising", that the world today is exactly as it became as a result of everything that occurred in the past).

I gave this a 3, but really, parts of it were a 5 (containing some of the best passages I have ever read on Tantra) while other parts a 1 (containing easily refuted logic and divisive views of human nature).

[Matt Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book made me look at the world differently, which a book can and should do. However not all books give a lasting insight which one can trace through years.

It is not about the kind of tantra associated with sex, per se, although of course this can be a very high expression of the tantric concepts. The book explains the benefits of being aware of desire and attachment in terms of relating day to day with anyone.

Of course, the buddhist concept of desire is that it leads to attachment towards objects, or people, or the self. This attachment can prove unfulfilling and empty since we may have incorrect views of the self and others, viewing them as separate entities and disconnected with us. Relying on external factors for happiness can be a perilous (but exciting!) way to live, and there is a lot of merit in becoming aware of how much we depend on things beyond our control for happiness. Since none of us are buddhas, (hello to any buddhas I've offended, I will see you on the road) we will always enjoy forgetting to be aware of external happiness and just GET INTO IT! as we should. But sometimes if you can be aware of how an attachment to something actually takes away from the enjoyment of it, for example habitually eating something sweet when it's not needed and watching the comedown from that half an hour later, it can be amazing.

For me it showed me how "leaky" I was with my desire, and how much effort and energy goes into factors which weren't getting me anywhere and just making me frustrated. For example, looking at lovely girls walking down the street, used to be a real mind wandering wish-fest! During the reading of this book, I started to enjoy the beauty of the people but then be very happy to have seen them and totally let them go, energetically. Amazing the feeling of freedom this can give you.

Lama Yeshe is one of the clearest and most generous of buddhist authors and I cannot be more grateful to read his books. He's up there with the Dalai Lama. Once you've read a few Dalai Lama books and you've meditated for a year, give this book a go. Might just turn you inside-out, in a lovely way.

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short primer on Buddhist Tantra.

5/5 ⭐️

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not about what you probably think it's about. There's no sex in it. It's about how to escape the human cycle of suffering -- wanting things, getting them, having them not satisfy you, and then wanting some more. The bad news is that the first step is to stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on alleviating the suffering of others. I say 'bad news' because tantra is supposed to be the Buddhist 'fast lane' to enlightenment. But it's clear from reading this lucid, well-argued approach to getting started on escaping samsara that the fast lane is still a long, slow struggle with desire, meditation, and turning your attention to the world to help others and away from the world to get some clarity for yourself.

[Toria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted a primary source overview of what tantra actually is in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, as background understanding for research in lucid dreams and Tibetan dream yoga.

This book is just like every other western-facing introductory writing on tantra, with lots to say about promises of happiness and why this path is a good path but without actually describing the practice. It spends more time in defense of tantra saying what tantra is NOT, rather than spending time telling us what the hell tantra IS.

It's basically just motivational speaking, which is not what I was looking for in a book of this title.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, understandable and humorous introduction to a very deep, intricate philosophy/spiritual practice. It has completely opened my eyes to a number of things I need to change in myself.

Highly recommended read.

[Erin Matson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Introduction to Tantra, and reading it has helped me expand my perceptions. However, I found myself getting lost on a few occasions. Perhaps this is a defect of my own mind, but regardless, with a name like “introduction” I was expecting a little more hand-holding for newbies.

[Andrew Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believe this is my second reading of the book but got much more out of it this time. The book solidifies the need of wisdom/intelligence to know how to practice mediation on and off the cushion with experience. I have been guilty of over intellectualizing spirituality, and reading this book helped ground me in that self-pity is the cowards way out for the true hard work of being compassionate to others and your self.

A revelation to me is that it is not pleasure that is the enemy to gratitude and loving others, but the ego-grasping attachment to pleasures of this world, to be obsessive about pleasures, that in a way the root of OCD and anxiety is the fault finding mind—looking at others and the way the world is is with joyless jadedness. That expectations are poison from my understanding is that you are attached to things working out the way you want them and cowering away from reality when they do not rather than using awareness and having the bravery to renounce the self-pity that is an infantile comfort that brings out the most neurotic and selfish neediness in us.

That Tantra is about engaging in practice of the qualities of skillful selflessness innate in us as opposed to the easy, defeatist way of giving up on ourselves/spiritual suicide. It inspires me to go back to the basics of renouncing neediness for worldly things and validation and to be accountable to others, that all intellectualizing without actual heartfelt will do is make you dry and arrogant.

[Imaginarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tantra is about taking the energy of everyday desires, channeling it through our 'fundamentally pure minds,' and walking 'the middle way' of life through 'experience and not blind faith.' There's much repetitive talk in the book about the need to do these things- the tone of the book is almost sing-songy- and yet, not much instruction is given as to how to achieve these feats, aside from a vague discussion on deity-yoga and another (creepy) discussion on guru-yoga.

Deity-yoga is envisioning oneself as a deity so as to take on said deity's attributes, and guru-yoga is leaning upon another (faulty) human being, a guru, and essentially worshipping this person as another deity as you attempt to mesh both the deity and guru with your own inner guru. This meshing is done through meditation and visualization, as well as the required initiation rites and the receipt of 'empowerments' from your guru. Ultimately, Lama Yeshe actually states 'We won't get anywhere if we try to learn from a book, hoping to figure things out ourselves,' and that 'guru-yoga is the root of the tantric path.' It makes me wonder why authors write such books that end up feeling like advertisements.

Additionally, I was concerned when a particular meditation (the inner fire meditation) was referred to as something we should do, yet the instructions on how to do the meditation were not provided. However, there remains some beautiful food-for-thought information in here, but it's very generic Buddhist wisdom that can be found in most other Buddhist books. Two stars for the nice Buddhist thoughts.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a little redundant. But was enlightening.

[Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I am grateful for the opportunity to receive a fresh philosophical perspective of existence. The concepts written here are so obviously true in hindsight, it's a wonder they aren't intuited by most people on their own. For example, the concept that all experiences filtered through individual perception are transitory and non-permanent. It is natural for human being to want to latch onto what gives them bliss but it is this latching that causes suffering. Instead we should recognize that we are floating through a series of moments and enjoy each one as mindfully and aware as possible. We should not deny ourselves or each other our human nature but instead develop our understanding and experiences to achieve the highest bliss. It must be practiced and maintained just like a muscle or a skill. It is achievable for anyone seeking to understand themselves and their place.

I have to say I'm not convinced that a person absolutely needs a guide in order to achieve this understanding. Sure, we need an introduction to the concepts, and maybe it's much easier with a guide and less hazardous falling into a cycle of suffering if we become stuck. However, the originators of these ideas were people just as we are. Reinventing this spiritual wheel, while difficult, could also be extemely rewarding. I don't believe one's spiritual journey needs to be authenticated or qualified by some sort of official person.

Another concept that I have difficulty with is the desire for tantric coupling. If the male and female energies exist in every human being, why the need for coupling? I see the appeal immediately of course but it seems like experiencing bliss in every moment is more about appreciation of existence, good or bad, rather than attempting to make oneself whole by engaging with another half. Maybe more reading will answer this question

[Shagun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the book. It is open and broad. If you have a basic understanding of Buddhism, there is hardly any chance that this goes unappreciated.

Lama Yeshe himself is a renowned practioner. The meditations explained are powerful and whole content is very authentic and profound.

[no.stache.nietzsche · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct and accessible introduction to tantric Buddhism, aimed at a western audience. Definitely dispelled some misconceptions we had! Enjoyed the listen.

[Lucía · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha resultado inspirador, pero le falta un poco más de concreción.

[Luka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to get introduced to tantra.

[Shira and Ari Evergreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written in an engaging style which is meant to approximate the voice of influential Lama Yeshe, who died in the late 1980s and was reincarnated to parents in Spain. The text explains how someone can use tantric (Tibetan) buddhism to reach enlightenment efficiently, which theoretically will allow you to, like Lama Yeshe, control the process of dying and rebirth so that you can help others and create a more compassionate world. It includes detailed descriptions of meditations and other exercises one can do in this pursuit, and serves as an overview of the first stages of tantric practice, encouraging readers to find a Lama they like so they can pursue further study in community.

Personally, I enjoyed the style and content and found the ideas very intriguing - but I shy away from organized religion and power hierarchies, and tantra as outlined here does seem to depend on such things. It also seems somewhat heterosexist. I hear that not all followers follow plans like Lama Yeshe's to the letter, though he does speak with such an authoritative voice that one would think that his plan is the tried and true method to attain enlightenment.

These criticisms aside, I did love reading the book, and felt many of the techniques outlined in it really are useful and do contribute to the practitioner's experience of bliss and wisdom.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tantra este una dintre cele mai străvechi căi spirituale indiene, conform lui Mircea Eliade fiind chiar anterioară Vedelor. În aceste vremuri de haos social și afectiv, avem o nevoie urgentă de acel ceva care, indiferent de opțiunile intelectuale sau religioase ale fiecăruia, să ne facă să dobândim flexibilitate mentală, câștigând o mai mare libertate față de conjuncturile exterioare. Așadar, cititorul trebuie să înceteze a mai privi tantra ca pe un mănunchi de practici exotice nepotrivite mentalității occidentale, înțelegând că tantra este una dintre puținele căi ce nu promovează evitarea, excluderea a ceea ce pare necorespunzător, ci mai degrabă o transformare care poate colora cu mii de nuanțe existența.

[Maleka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing in the simplicity and clarity of the writing. Excellent introduction to Buddhism, the study of tantra, concepts like bodhichitta, and more. I was also very impressed with how Lama Yeshe brought modern issues into the way he introduced tantra. I wanted to highlight sentences from almost every paragraph.

[DropOfOcean · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Very clearly written book which is rather fast read even if you spend some time contemplating. Some very nice writings about the self and God and what keeps us down. As for criticism there could have been more content, especially practical content even though I am well aware that putting such stuff in book is very difficult.

[Thubten Palmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really is a perfect introduction to tantra. It doesn't require initiation and covers the key concepts in tantra thoroughly. I'd recommend it to anyone considering taking their first empowerment, or anyone interested in Vajrayana at all

[Jake Teresi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent intro to Buddhist Tantra, which I knew almost nothing about. Resonated until it got to the whole very specific way process in which you die and it got a little to close to fundamentalist western religion in practice where fables are taken literally.

[Safoura]

a beginners introduction. not bad

[Gerd]

Love it. Simple, true and practical.

[Florin Pitea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it recently. Enjoyed it for its clarity.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022 it was. It was a world slowly learning to breathe again after the shock of Covid-19. These books had become both compass and companion. All the works reviewed here, reviewed back then, reflect my collective reckoning—stories of endurance, rupture, memory, and meaning. Each book offers a shard of clarity in an age still stitching itself back together.

Warning: These books are intended strictly for academic study. Attempting to practise any of the Tantric methods described in them without proper initiation and guidance can be extremely harmful.

The fun part about this book is that you pick it up expecting some heavy, cloaked-in-mystery exposition on esoteric Buddhist practice, but Lama Yeshe walks in with this disarming, affectionate, almost mischievous energy — like that childhood Physics teacher who somehow explains the entire cosmos using a cup of tea and a smile.

And suddenly, Tantra stops feeling like a locked vault and starts feeling like a home you forgot you lived in.

What makes this book so refreshing is Lama Yeshe’s absolute refusal to mystify Tantra. He doesn’t water it down — he just removes the unnecessary gloom.

With his trademark warmth, he reframes Tantra as an art of alchemy, where the raw material isn’t gold or mercury but your own messy, contradictory human emotions.

Desire, anger, attachment — the things every other spiritual tradition warns you to “rise above” — are the very substances he tells you to transform. Not repressed. Not demonized. Transformed. It hits differently, especially in a world where spirituality often feels allergic to real human life.

Lama Yeshe’s brilliance lies in his psychological clarity. He knows exactly where modern readers trip: we hear “desire” and immediately think it means giving in to every impulse or, on the opposite extreme, repressing everything until we become spiritually constipated.

He gently guides you away from both traps. Desire, he says, is simply energy — and Tantra teaches you to redirect it toward awakening. It’s like learning emotional aikido, honestly.

The metaphors he uses are deliciously simple. Mind is like a wild horse, breath is the reins, visualization is a map, and mantra is the soundtrack.

If you came in expecting academic mudras and labyrinthine cosmology, Lama Yeshe instead offers a spiritual user manual for being a human with cravings, fears, fantasies, and wounds.

He makes you feel seen in a way that many traditional texts don’t.

One of the book’s strongest sections is the explanation of deity yoga — not as some exotic, external worship, but as a psychological method of reshaping identity.

Lama Yeshe shows how visualizing yourself as a deity isn’t an act of ego but a strategy: you practice being the version of yourself that is already wise, already luminous, already whole.

It’s surprisingly contemporary; it aligns with cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and even creative visualization, but with the added flavor of Tibetan symbolism and lineage.

He’s also brutally honest about pitfalls. Tantra isn’t for spiritual tourists, nor is it about indulgence.

Without guidance, discipline, and ethics, it collapses. He makes this clear without ever becoming stern — more like a caring friend reminding you not to microwave metal.

The best part? The tenderness. Lama Yeshe has this way of making you feel safe. Safe to feel. Safe to question. Safe to want things. Safe to transform.

You sense, on every page, that he’s speaking from lived experience — not theory — and that he trusts your potential more than you do.

Philip Glass’ foreword adds an unexpected artistic resonance, and Jonathan Landaw’s editorial shaping is crisp, but it’s Lama Yeshe’s voice — compassionate, playful, razor-sharp — that carries everything.

By the end, you’re not just learning Tantra; you’re learning a different way of being alive.

The book leaves you with this quiet, steady confidence: you don’t need to escape desire to be free.

You need to understand it, embrace it, and guide it toward something higher.

It’s the kind of book that stays with you like a mantra whispered in a dream — soft, direct, and somehow exactly what you needed.

Most recommended.

[Connor Mooneyhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire by Thubten Yeshe is a theoretical introduction to the path of tantra. It is not a practical guide, and if you go in not knowing the first thing about tantra, you may still not know how one might start practicing it by the end. You will know, however, the fundamental ideas that inform tantric practice. Yeshe himself says “we will not get anywhere if we try to learn from a book, hoping to figure things out by ourselves.” Despite some initial disappointment at this lack of practical instruction, I was taken in by Yeshe’s charming, conversational prose, and many of the reflections on meditation have been edifying to my own practice. His candor and frequently humorous presentation provided an open environment in which to learn about what might have otherwise been some fairly striking ideas (e.g. deity yoga, guru yoga, bardo, etc.).

He starts off by introducing tantra as one of two paths towards enlightenment, with the other being the sutra path. The sutra path, so he says, is the path whereby you plant the seeds of enlightenment and then water them until they bear fruit. As such, it is a slow and gradual process. Tantra, on the other hand, is immediate (sort of); he often refers to it as the “lightning vehicle,” since you essentially take the expected result of the practice (i.e. enlightenment) and manifest it now, using this as a vehicle to get to the result.

In the theory sections, the concept of bodhichitta caught my eye. He defines bodhichitta as “the impulse to achieve full enlightenment in order to be of most benefit to others.” As with many concepts in the book, it sounds obscure at first due to the language of enlightenment, but I eventually grew to see it as something more like “the most durable motivation for your practice is the motivation to become a source of ease and compassionate companionship to others.” Meditation can tend to be quite inwardly-focused, and here Yeshe reminds us that it need not be exclusively so.

Things became a bit more obscure in the chapters on guru yoga and the experience of death, bardo, and rebirth. While much in these chapters didn’t represent ideas I’m prepared to accept myself, I did appreciate Yeshe’s comments on the critical role that role models play in the spiritual life. I’ll reproduce a couple of these quotes here:

"The main reason that religion in both the East and the West has degenerated so much nowadays is the rarity of meeting good spiritual examples."

"We need the example of someone who, while human like ourselves, has developed beyond the bounds of what we presently think possible."

There is much more to say about this tiny tract, including a few places where I either disagreed with the content or Yeshe’s approach to it, but overall I found it to be both informative and entertaining. And it’s short! With few exceptions, there is a near-constant focus on giving good reasons for why the reader should accept what is being said rather than just taking it on faith. This focus, combined with Yeshe’s knack for writing in a clear and friendly manner, makes for an excellent introduction (according to this outsider) to the fundamental ideas of Tibetan Buddhist tantra.

[Silvio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformation & Embodiment, Expansion & Empowerment, inherent Wholeness & Purity & Wisdom & Bliss & Freedom & Enlightenment.
If these words resonate with you, then Tantra is for you.


Tantra in 3 concepts:

#1: Transformation rather than transcendence.
Everything is already here (freedom, wholeness, peace, joy, wisdom, enlightenment), we just have to transform our perception (expand our awareness) in order to experience it. Tantra uses the most potent tool responsible for both our suffering and our liberation: desire. "The function of Tantra is to transform all pleasures into the transcendental experience of deep penetrating awareness." This deep Awareness has two aspects: Wisdom and Bliss. Tantra is about the merging (sex) of Wisdom (feminine) and Bliss (masculine). Uniting the feminine and masculine energies, all polarities come into completion, into wholeness.

#2: It's all in the mind (intention & imagination) - fake it till you make it.
It's all in the mind, our problems and our liberation. The way is in the mind, the "primary shaper of our experience". There's no difference between what we see and what we imagine - both are projections. Finding Truth is about what we identify with - it's about Self-Recognition. Instead of identifying with our usual misery, we identify with the enlightened qualities of a deity - and eventually we become that, which means we realize that we are that. Usually, though, we limit our self-conception because of our belief in ordinary appearances: that is called ignorance. Through the transformation of desire and the resultant blissful Wisdom, this ignorance is uprooted. "The key, during both life and death, is to recognize illusions as illusions, projections as projections, and fantasies as fantasies. In this way we become free."

#3: Empowerment.
Both from the outside (initiation) and from the inside (fruits of the practices: increasing freedom, wholeness, peace, joy, wisdom, etc). Both initiation and practices expand our momentum on this journey. Enlightenment is a spectrum - the more we open, the more light comes in.


The three prerequisites for tantric practice:
#1: Renunciation - emerging from dissatisfaction through (inner) detachment from worldly pleasures (& pains)
#2: The dedicated heart of bodhicitta - opening the heart into selfless compassion
#3: The correct view of emptiness - the "middle way" (see Nagarjuna), dissolving self-created limitations


The four qualities for tantric practice:
#1: Indestructible devotion
#2: Freedom from doubt
#3: One-pointed concentration
#4: Secrecy concerning our practices


"True practice is something we do from moment to moment, from day to day. We do whatever we can, with whatever wisdom we have, and dedicate it all to the benefit of others. (...) We don't need to wait until we are buddhas before we can begin to act."